


No Cracks in My Heart

by figmentera



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Vampire Hunters, Alternate Universe - Vox Machina Never Forms, Briarwood Arc spoilers, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Slow Burn, and threw a few in here, at least, but knowing me... probably pretty slow, by which I mean, i ransacked canon for loose plot points, not as we know them, out-of-context spoilers past Briarwood Arc, time will tell how slow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 09:27:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10851138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/figmentera/pseuds/figmentera
Summary: Watching him sitting in the corner of the tavern, you almost wouldn't think he was a vampire. He looked far more normal than the others she'd seen, and he disguised his abnormal behaviors well. Yet for those with a keen eye, it was obvious. The food nobody had ever seen him eat, the ungodly hours he kept, the pale skin and bags under his eyes... However convincingly he played the role of someone who had no idea how to take care of himself, Vex knew the truth. Percival de Rolo had come back from the dead, and it was high time for him to return. No doubt about it.





	No Cracks in My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from Ghosts That We Knew by Mumford & Sons. This story was originally going to be a oneshot inspired by [this post](http://figmentera.tumblr.com/post/140101715176/assassin-aus), but it's... gotten away from me a bit.

When Vex waltzed into the tavern that night, it was without the slightest fear that she would leave disappointed. Despite the long weeks, despite the close call when he’d nearly shaken her, she knew she’d caught her quarry. She always had, and each one brought her closer to her true goal. Besides, she had a good feeling about today. Uncovering his identity had been such a stroke of luck, and tracking him down had taken longer than usual. Then once she’d caught up, her stakeouts had revealed him to be a scientific sort, always taking notes and sketches. It was perfect. Not only did she get to rid the world of another of his kind, she’d also likely get valuable intel for the next effort. It was always so nice when a plan came together just right.

It was also nice that he’d given her the time to do proper surveillance ahead of time. She’d taken out her prey without knowing the lay of the land before, and she’d do it again, but it was so much more comforting to go in with all the regular patrons of the tavern on her side, knowing the ins and outs of the place at least as well as he did. Having a better backup plan than the one hanging around her neck was always a bonus.

She adjusted her cloak, making certain her distinctive armor was hidden from the patrons. They’d seen her only in simpler dress, and she wanted to keep it that way.

“Alain!” she called to the innkeeper, smiling and winking at him in greeting. “How’s business?”

He looked up, and grinned back. “It’s been all right, Ella. How’s work on that farm going?”

Vex shrugged, fleetingly wondering if it was worth making up another story. “Can’t complain. Hey, listen, is the quiet guy with the white hair that’s been staying here around? I found this yesterday, it’s one of his, right?” She held out her hand, spinning a black quill pen in it. She hadn’t dared pickpocket one from him, so this was simply a very close match to the distinctive ones her quarry always used. She’d spent some pains making sure it was accurate, even if it probably wouldn’t matter for long.

Alain glanced down at it, and nodded. “Yeah, it does look like one of his. Want me to hold on to it? He hasn’t come down for supper yet.”

“Oh, I can just run it up to his room. Which one is he in?”

“Third on the left. I’ll have supper prepared for when you come back down.”

She grinned and nodded, feeling a slight stab of regret. However this went, she wouldn’t get that supper. After this, it’d be on to a new target, following new leads. She likely would never come back here, and she’d miss the small relationships she’d built up. Her task was a lonely one, ever since… She clenched her hand around the quill, and widened her smile a bit. “I’m looking forwards to it. Be back soon.”

Halfway up the stairs, she switched from the casual gait of her farmer’s persona to the quiet hunter’s steps she’d spent so long perfecting. She put aside her regrets about the town, put thoughts of Alain’s delicious dinners out of her head. It was time for the hunt.

The lock on the door was no obstacle, even for her scant skills. It clicked open, and she took a moment before opening the door it was attached to. She threw back her cloak, revealing her dark, feathered, armor, and freeing up her arms. She pulled a flask off her belt, and held it in her left hand. One breath. Two. Her hand was on the door. In seconds, the fight for his life would be on.

No use putting it off. She raised one hand, grasping the knob, and eased it open. He sat there, facing mostly away from her, and she released a breath and eased her way forward, drawing the door closed behind her. With one hand, she flicked the cover of the flask off, taking a breath. There he was. The dead de Rolo scion, returned. Altered. Skin paler, circles under his eyes. Hair bleached white. The physical signs, on top of his impossible survival… She held no doubt that he was one of the undead now. One of her targets.

He stiffened suddenly, and she froze. She could swear she’d made no sound. Yet something had changed. Slowly, slowly, he put down his quill and she brought her hand to the stake at her belt. Then he picked up a vial of clear liquid and everything sped up.

She splashed her flask of holy water over his torso. Half a second later, his vial hit her in the face and shattered, splashing her face with something. Her hand came up clutching a wooden stake. She had half a second to think _He didn’t scream at the water_ before his hand caught her wrist. They grappled there for a second. Then she swung her left hand up towards his chin. The pointy silver rings made solid contact. He grunted, but she heard no hiss or sizzle.

His other hand had been groping blindly behind him. She’d ignored it, but now it came out with some contraption. She had just time to wonder what when there was a very loud sound. Her stomach erupted in pain, and she fell backwards. On the way down she lashed out with her right hand. She heard a grunt, and released the stake. Then she was lying on the ground, looking up at his device. Her eyes slid past it to the stake in his chest, and his hand wrapped around it. She’d hit her mark. Even in her wild fall, she’d gotten his heart. Not deeply, it wouldn’t be a fatal wound on anybody else, but it should have debilitated him.

Yet before her eyes he pulled the stake out without difficulty, hissing through his teeth at the pain. Through his _blunted_ teeth.

“That bullet was silver, it should’ve killed you,” he said, dropping her stake without looking at it. “If you were anything like the others. Do I not rate full minions of the night anymore? I think I’m wounded.”

“You aren’t a vampire?” she whispered. “Then– How are you alive?”

They stared at each other for a long moment. Then Vex started laughing. It hurt, but she barely cared. It was too ridiculous. “This is just priceless,” she said, and laughed again.

The man she’d tried to kill looked nonplussed. “What?” he asked, pushing his device a little closer to her face.

She ignored it. “I was trying to kill you because I thought you were a vampire, and you thought it was because _I_ was a vampire. I mean what kind of coincidence is that.”

He frowned, not seeing the humor yet. “The Briarwoods didn’t send you?”

Her laughter died immediately. “Gods, no. Quite the reverse, dear.”

“Then why did you try to kill me?”

“I was under the impression you were a vampire. You’re certainly pale enough. My apologies, by the way.”

“So you aren’t going to try again. The assassination attempt was a one-time thing.” 

“I don’t kill _people_. Not unless I have to. As long as you’re heart’s beating, you’re safe from me.”

“I think I almost believe that,” her former quarry said. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t entirely take your word for it, though.” He lowered his device slightly, so it wasn’t precisely pointed at her face anymore. Still, she had no doubt that if she made a wrong move, she’d be hit again before she got any distance.

She moved to sit up, and stopped with a groan. “Ow. Whatever your thing does, it _hurts_.”

“It’s designed to. Just be glad silver isn’t a weakness of yours.” He was studying her, taking in her spare flasks of holy water and the rest of her stakes, the daggers of silver still sheathed, the holy symbols sewn into her armor. “If you have a healing potion, I suggest you drink it. I have questions, and we wouldn’t want you bleeding out before they’re answered, would we?” There was more than a slight edge of irony to that question.

“No need for one,” she wheezed, bringing her hand up slowly. Now that he didn’t look quite so likely to attack again, she summoned her energy and focused on the wound. It gradually knit shut, in a flash of sky blue, and she sat up, still breathing hard. “That’s cheaper. Name’s Vex, by the way.”

He nodded, eyebrows slightly raised. “A pleasure to meet you. My name–“ He paused.

“Don’t bother coming up with a fake one, I already know who you are.” She pushed herself up on her elbows, then shifted to a seated position, hands where he could clearly see them. “Percival, right? I’ve seen your portraits. Mind explaining how you’re alive, when so few members of your family can say the same?”

He visibly flinched. The hand holding his contraption twitched, and she suspected he was holding himself back from using it on her again. Maybe it was time to lay off the sass for a moment.

“How do you know about my family?” he asked, his voice shaking.

“I’m not vampire hunting on a lark, dear. I did my research.”

“Tell me what you know.” His voice was a tiny bit steadier now, but she still heard the quiver.

“What, all of it?”

“Just start talking.”

She glared up at him for a moment. It wasn’t like he was in such a fabulous position to make demands. Sure, he’d gotten the upper hand in their fight, but that was mostly after she’d realized she didn’t want to kill him. She’d had plenty more tricks up her sleeve. Still, she’d gain nothing from trying to force the issue. He seemed like he might get touchy and try to kill her at a small provocation, right now. So she started rattling off what the last year had taught her. “I know your hometown has an infestation of vampires. I know what happened to your family. I know–“

“Tell me,” he said, voice carefully controlled. “Are they alive? Any of them?”

She looked up at him, and for one moment she considered keeping it a secret, having it to reveal if she ever needed it. But his face… She recognized it. He’d lost everything, too, and if she couldn’t give it back herself, she could at least give him the hope of one day reclaiming it. So she nodded. “One. Your youngest sister. Cassandra.”

In that moment, as she said his sister’s name, all his careful self-control vanished. He stumbled back, and his weapon fell from his hand. “No. I– I left her.” He put one hand in front of his face, and his breathing picked up.

Vex, on instinct, reached out and caught the falling weapon, and upon studying it for a moment, realized she had no clue how it worked and laid it on the ground. She gathered up her stake and straightened her armor, taking advantage of Percival’s apparent internal crisis to put them on even footing again.

As she stood up, his eyes refocused on her. “How do you know this? Did you see her?”

“I didn’t see her, no. I spoke to someone who had. She was– Well. She was taken captive by the Briarwoods.” She saw the grief and rage playing out again across his face, and added “I’m sorry.”

“Who are you? Why should I trust you on any of this?” There was more than a touch of hostility, there, which was probably fair enough considering that she’d tried to kill him three seconds ago.

She sighed heavily. “I already told you my name. And it’s your choice whether to trust me or not, as long as you do it quickly. I already spent a month tracking you. You probably have valuable information, but I’m not so starved for leads I need to spend even more time coaxing them out of you.”

He stared at her, and she could feel his evaluation. She met his eyes. Finally he exhaled. “Tell me this, then. Why are you here? You’re not from Whitestone. What happened that made you hate the Briarwoods so much?”

She raised her chin just slightly. She knew her emotions wouldn’t show on her face. She’d had years of practice keeping them bottled up, and they all came in handy now. “Same reason you hate them. They took my family.” She took a deep breath, remembering the awful night a year before. “They have my brother.”

He studied her for another long moment. It was hard to keep still with the memory of Vax blankly serving them fresh in her head, but she did her best. She did want whatever leads and information he had in all those notebooks, after all. If she could convince him that she really was trustworthy, her job might get a whole lot easier. That was worth some pain.

Finally, _finally_ , he nodded. “Then our goals are aligned.”

She nodded back.

It didn’t feel like the beginning of something grand. It wasn’t quite a dramatic alliance forged in the midst of danger. It was nothing the bards would sing of, Vex thought. But it _was_ a relief. One more person who understood what she was trying to do. One more person tied up in this mess with her. And maybe, maybe, the promise of more, eventually.

“So,” she said.

He paused, opened his mouth, closed it again. “We’ll talk later,” he said, and turned back to his papers.

“Yes. We will. Later, then.” She took a breath, and turned to go.

Apparently, she’d get to eat that supper Alain had promised her after all.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at figmentera on tumblr if you want to talk!


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